Cross Fire by James Patterson

With my dislike of manufactured books, you might think I wouldn't go back to James Patterson. My interest was to see the appeal of Alex Cross, Patterson's own detective hero. There are 33 (and counting) in the series, and the character has been played twice in the movies, by Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry. I thought I should see why they are so popular.

Cross Fire has the Patterson style of short, fast chapters, most about two pages long. This is number seventeen in the series, and so characters are already established, and villains of the past have returned. It was preceded by the very popular I, Alex Cross and followed by Kill Alex Cross.

Alex is a psychologist who joined the police force. He is planning to marry his fiancée, Detective Bree Stone, but they put their wedding plans on hold when a sniper begins targeting officials in DC. Another thread is the return of Kyle Craig, a former partner of Alex who turned into a psychopathic killer nicknamed The Mastermind. In the past, Alex put his arch-nemesis in federal prison, but he has broken out and returns to destroy Alex and his family. He kills an FBI agent and has his face surgically altered to resemble him so he can slip into the investigation. This requires an otherworldly suspension of disbelief from the reader, pretty outlandish. Kyle weasels his way into working closely with Alex, who does not know who he really is.

I found the characters strong and appealing, especially Alex's grandmother, whom everyone calls Nana Mama. She is sassy and wise and lives with Alex, Bree, and his three kids. His partner, John Sampson, is also well-drawn, though I don't know why he constantly refers to Alex as "Sugar."

This has the same style as all the James Patterson novels but is well above the books he co-authors. Intriguing plots, great characters you want to return to, and a solid thriller read. I can see the appeal of Alex Cross. The explosive finale in Nassau was satisfying and made me want to read more in the series. I followed it by reading the novel the latest movie was based on, Alex Cross.

2010 / Paperback / 384 pages